Syracuse Wins, Jonny Flynn Debate Ensues

After a tough loss to Georgetown, Syracuse bounced back with their best performance of the season: a 93-74 win over 12th ranked Notre Dame. As we took to the airwaves on the Double Overtime after the game, Danny Parkins and Anthony Ricobbono were expecting nothing but positive conversation.

But a few early callers went after SU's star, point guard Jonny Flynn. The argument (which the hosts disagreed with vehemently) basically went as followed:

-- "He made too many bad decisions"

-- "He forced too many shots"

-- "He's turning into a punk on the court"

There are too many holes in these sentiments to count on one hand, but we'll give it a try anyway.

Flynn's 3:1 assist/turnover ratio is elite for a point guard, and coming into the game he's 2nd in the Big East conference to Pittsburgh's Levance Fields in assists per game. In fact, in the two games prior to today's, Flynn was averaging 9 assists for every 1 turnover!

You can hear some of the anti-Flynn calls, the rest of the hosts rebuttals, and our reporter from the press conference after the jump...

In response to the notion that he was "forcing too many shots," it has to be remembered that Flynn is an OFFENSIVE minded point guard. He hit big 3 pointers at the beginning of the game when nobody else was scoring, and didn't attempt a 3 in the 2nd half when his teammates had found their stroke. Notre Dame cut the lead to five around the 5:00 mark of the 2nd half, and it was Flynn who responded with back-to-back baskets when his team needed them most. A couple of shots might have been forced, but Flynn is a dynamic offensive player and fans need to respect what he can do with the ball in his hands.

As for the sentiment that was echoed by a couple of callers that Flynn talks too much trash or is turning into a punk on the court, we at the Double Overtime just don't see it. His antics have not hurt the team the way that Paul Harris' recent technical fouls for hanging on the rim (See: Rutgers AND Notre Dame) have, and the team seems to feed off of Flynn's emotion.

Those were our thoughts, here's the audio of the callers who were on the other side, and please leave your take on Jonny Flynn in the comments section of the blog:

Back to the game, Ryan Miller was in the postgame locker room and brought the show back to where it should have been from the get-go. Syracuse's response to the Georgetown loss, the atmosphere in the Dome, and the dominating play inside of Arinze Onuaku and Rick Jackson. The two bigs combined for 33 points and 18 rebounds on 15 of 22 shooting from the floor. Listen to Ryan's report also for a riveting anecdote about who has the best smile in the Big East: Jonny Flynn or Dejuan Blair!

Anthony and Danny then proceded to look ahead to Monday's matchup against #1 Pittsburgh. They both agree the Orange will have trouble matching up against the athleticism of the Panthers. Levance Fields will be Jonny Flynn's toughest test to date. But after today's game, Anthony and Danny are more confident in Onuaku and Jackson's ability inside against premier Big East big men.

The Double Overtime hits the airwaves again Monday following the game at Pittsburgh. Thanks for listening and keep lighting up the phone lines at 443-2011.